Helping Nature Along: Breeding Giant Pandas

A Positive Future for Pandas

Despite sadness and disappointment over the loss of the panda cub at the Smithsonian's National Zoo, reproductive physiologist Dr. Pierre Comizzoli is hopeful for the future of giant pandas.

"We know that we have enough animals in captivity with a really good genetic diversity to have a sustainable population for at least 100 years," Comizzoli said.

Here, two pandas chew on bamboo at the Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu, China. There are an estimated 1,600 giant pandas living in the wild in China. There are some 300 pandas living in captivity. Most live in China.